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Condition of Wetlands in the Murderkill River Watershed

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Condition of Wetlands in the Murderkill River Watershed Condition of Wetlands in the Murderkill River Watershed Final report submitted to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region III for Assistance # WL-97329901-0 to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control A. Rogerson1, A. Jacobs, A. Howard 1Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Watershed Stewardship Division, Watershed Assessment Section Dover, Delaware 19904 November 2011 The citation for this document is: Rogerson, A.B., A.D. Jacobs, and A.M. Howard. 2011. Wetland condition for the Murderkill River Watershed, Delaware. Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Watershed Assessment Section, Dover, USA. 67p. Murderkill Watershed Wetland Report i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Funding for this project was provided by EPA REMAP and Region III Wetland Program Development Grant Assistance # WL-97329901-0, and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. This research and report were made possible by many who contributed their time and expertise. Tom Kincaid and Tony Olsen with the EPA Office of Research and Development Lab, Corvallis, Oregon provided technical support with the developing the data frame and statistical weights. Many seasonal hires, team members and volunteers dedicated their time and hard work to collecting our assessment data including: Lara Allison, Brian Banks, Mike Bott, Deb Fillis, Greg Gagliano, Matt Henry, Matt Jennette, Gabrielle Lyons, Evan Rehm, Rebecca Rothweiler, Linda Rossell, Tom Saladyga, Drexel Siok, and Eddie Walther. We also thank Bruce Vasilas with the University of Delaware and Al Rizzo for soil training, and the Division of Fish and Wildlife for use of their boat, without which we would not have completed our sampling. In addition, we thank the Environmental Lab Section for use of their boat, massive biomass storage and oven space. Murderkill Watershed Wetland Report ii Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 4 WATERSHED OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................... 6 2.1 Geologic History .................................................................................................................................. 6 2.2 Wetlands ............................................................................................................................................. 8 2.3 Land Use Changes and Wetland Issues ............................................................................................... 9 METHODS .................................................................................................................................................... 13 3.1 Site Selection ..................................................................................................................................... 13 3.2 Changes in Wetland Acreage ............................................................................................................ 13 3.3 Data Collection .................................................................................................................................. 14 3.3.1. Assessing Tidal Wetlands .......................................................................................................... 14 3.3.1.a Rapid Sampling of Tidal Wetlands ........................................................................................ 14 3.3.1.b Intensive Sampling in Tidal Wetlands .................................................................................. 17 i. Marsh Birds ................................................................................................................................ 17 ii. Vegetative Biomass ................................................................................................................... 19 3.3.2 Assessing Nontidal Wetlands ..................................................................................................... 20 3.3.2.a Rapid Sampling in Nontidal Wetlands .................................................................................. 20 3.3.2.b Comprehensive Sampling in Nontidal Wetlands .................................................................. 22 3.4 Presenting Wetland Condition .......................................................................................................... 22 RESULTS ...................................................................................................................................................... 25 4.1 Changes in Wetland Acreage ............................................................................................................ 25 4.2 Landowner Contact and Site Access .................................................................................................. 26 4.3 Wetland Condition ............................................................................................................................ 27 4.3.1 Tidal Wetland Condition .............................................................................................................. 27 Murderkill Watershed Wetland Report iii 4.3.1.a Intensive Data ..................................................................................................................... 30 4.3.2 Nontidal Wetland Condition ........................................................................................................ 32 4.3.2.a Flats ...................................................................................................................................... 32 4.3.2.b Riverine ................................................................................................................................ 34 4.3.2.c Depressions .......................................................................................................................... 37 4.4 Overall Condition and Watershed Comparison ................................................................................. 37 4.5 Wetland Grading and Summary ....................................................................................................... 38 MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................................................ 40 LITERATURE CITED ...................................................................................................................................... 43 APPENDIX A: Qualitative Disturbance Rating (QDR) Category Descriptions .............................................. 47 APPENDIX B: Nontidal Rapid Assessment Stressor Codes and Definitions ................................................. 48 APPENDIX C: Nontidal Rapid Assessment IWC Stressors and Weights....................................................... 50 APPENDIX D: Tidal Wetland Raw Data and Scored Metrics from MidTRAM for Murderkill River Sites .... 51 APPENDIX E: Bird Survey Data for Murderkill River Tidal Sites 2008.......................................................... 55 APPENDIX F: Vegetative Biomass Data for Murderkill River Tidal Sites 2008 ............................................ 56 APPENDIX G: Nontidal Flat Wetland Rapid Assessment Stressors for Sites in the Murderkill River watershed in 2008 ...................................................................................................................................... 57 APPENDIX H: Nontidal Riverine Wetland Rapid Assessment Stressors for Sites in the Murderkill River watershed in 2007-2008 ............................................................................................................................. 60 APPENDIX I: Nontidal Flats Comprehensive Metric and Variable Data from Murderkill River watershed sites ............................................................................................................................................................. 63 APPENDIX J: Nontidal Riverine Comprehensive Metric and Variable Data from Murderkill River watershed sites ........................................................................................................................................... 64 APPENDIX K: Nontidal Depression Assessment Data from Murderkill River sites 2007-2008 .................. 65 Murderkill Watershed Wetland Report iv Maps Map 1. Location of the Murderkill River watershed and the major basins of Delaware. ............................ 6 Map 2. Key habitats, wildlife areas and recreational ponds in the Murderkill River watershed, Delaware 7 Map 3. Distribution of tidal and nontidal wetland across the Murderkill River watershed, Delaware based on 2007 mapping. ......................................................................................................................................... 8 Map 4. Land cover for the Murderkill River watershed in 2007 based on NLCD land use categories. ...... 10 Map 5. Distribution of natural and artificial or altered waterways in the Murderkill River watershed. .... 11 Map 6. Past and present wetland coverage in the Murderkill River watershed, Delaware. ...................... 25 Map 7. Wetland condition grades for tidal, flats, and riverine wetlands in the Murderkill River watershed Delaware based on the subclass condition
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